Dong-Chul Seo named fellow, president-elect of the American Academy of Health Behavior

Dong-Chul Seo, associate professor in the Department of Applied Health Science at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, has been named a fellow as well as president-elect for 2013-14 of the American Academy of Health Behavior.

"Dr. Seo is an incredible asset to the school and to Indiana University," said Mohammad Torabi, dean and chancellor's professor at the School of Public Health-Bloomington. "It is only fitting that he be selected as a fellow as well as president-elect of such a prestigious organization."

Dr. Dong-Chul Seo

Seo worked as an evaluation expert for the Korean government for 12 years before joining the IU faculty in 2004. He has 24 years of research experience in policy and socio-ecological approaches for obesity and addictive behavior. His research has been supported by 12 different grants funded by federal, state and local agencies since 2004, and he was principle investigator or co-principle investigator on 11 of the 12 grants. He has published more than 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals in the past nine years. Seo has served as a grant reviewer for a number of agencies, including the National Science Foundation, as an editor for the World Journal of Methodology and as a peer reviewer for 13 journals.

"It is a great honor to be named both a fellow of the academy and to be named president-elect of the group I hold in such high esteem," Seo said. "I could not be more honored."

Seo served as American Academy of Health Behavior Research Review Committee chair in 2008-09. He joined the AAHB Board in 2010 as a delegate and is currently serving as treasurer.

After his term as president-elect, he will serve as president for 2014-15.

"Professor Seo's excellence in research in health behavior and high-quality publications in dozens of premier journals make him uniquely suited for leadership in the AAHB," said David Lohrmann, chair of the Department of Applied Health Science at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington.

The American Academy of Health Behavior's mission is to serve as the research home for health behavior scholars and researchers whose primary commitment is to excellence in research and the application of research to improve public health. Fellow status is conferred as an indication of distinction and is based solely on merit.